Dr. Donohue: A backward approach to better exercise

DR. PAUL DONOHUE

Published Saturday, March 04, 2006

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 59-year-old male and have been jogging for 25 years. In the winter months I used to use a NordicTrack. Last year I switched to an elliptical cross-trainer. I have read how running backward develops muscles around the knee joint. Does using the elliptical trainer in a backward motion have any benefit? If so, what is the recommended cycle? Five minutes forward and five backward? - M.H.

ANSWER: Let's take the running question first. Whats said about running can apply to the elliptical trainer.

Running backward exercises leg muscles that are not used as much as in forward running. It provides muscle balance for the legs, including the muscles that protect the knee joint.

The energy cost of backward running is one-third greater than the energy cost of forward running. You burn considerably more calories in the same time when you run backward than you do running forward. In backward running, the feet hit the ground faster than they do in forward running, and it takes more energy to propel the body backward. Those are two explanations for the increased calorie burning of backward running.

On an elliptical trainer, the calorie cost of backward pedaling might not be much different from forward pedaling, but you are using different muscles.

The buttock muscles, in particular, are worked harder when a person pedals backward, so you are balancing muscle development.

Your program of five minutes forward and five minutes backward makes sense. If you want, you can alternate days of forward pedaling with days of backward pedaling.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a step-counting pedometer and would like to know how many steps I should take in a day. Can you also tell me how many steps make a mile? I am 80 years old and fairly healthy. - J.B.

ANSWER: About 2,000 steps make a mile. The actual distance depends, of course, on the length of your step.

At a brisk pace, the average person takes about 4,000 steps in a half-hour. That depends on how fast a person steps.

Two thousand steps burn 100 calories.

Exercise experts want people to take 10,000 steps a day - 5 miles. A sedentary person takes between 4,000 and 6,000 steps a day.

Would you like to be let in on a secret? You are 80 years old and in fairly good health. The way you have lived life has served you in good stead.

You dont need to listen to experts. You are an expert. We should be listening to what you have done.